I am posting this in GQ because my AP American History teacher seems to think it has a factual answer. I am not looking for speculation or debate on the topic. I am interested in an answer that is widely accepted by high school teachers. However, if no single answer is known to be the best, then I will enertain speculation. The things do not just apply to American History, but to history in general, and they are not inventions- I believe they are ideas. My guess is power, greed, and God. However, power and greed may be too closely related, so perhaps they aren’t seperate ideas in terms of this question. World History just seems to be too complex a subject to narrow the forces behind it to three basic ideas. Thank you.
IN my opinion (in no specific order)
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Development of agriculture - Allowed a small number of people to provide enough food for all, thus enabling others to concentrate on other things (art, science, pretty much everything else)
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Development of written language - allowed knowledge to be accumulated and passed along
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Religion - don’t know how to phrase this exactly. Spirituality, maybe? Anyway, the idea that there is something greater than us out there has probably has as much influence both positively and negatively as anything.
Course, I am not a high school teacher, so I don’t know if this is the “correct” answer, but it works for me.
I presume you mean the history of human civilization and not the history of the world in general but the answer is subjective.
Fire, animal husbandry, the wheel, credit, writing, printing, agriculture (the plow), electricity, atomic energy, microwaveable popcorn, breast augmentation.
Ah, in reading this over I was reminded of something we talked about last year in world history; the explorers and conquistadors went on such dangerous trips in the name of gold, glory, and god. I strongly suspect this is the correct answer, but does it really apply to the entire world, not just Europe?
I was going to suggest the printing press, but you say your teacher is not looking for inventions. So let me throw out some other things.
The Roman Empire – it united the (European) world long enough for the development of transportation, trade and a common system of laws.
Literacy – okay, it’s pretty much like the printing press in that it heightened the ability of common people to become educated.
Democracy – an outgrowth of literacy, the concept of people having an equal voice in how they live/are governed has prbably been the most significant idea in at least the last 400 years.
Argiculture
Written Language
Mechanization
Honrable Mention: Scientific Method, Social Contract
- Mathematics
- Fire
- Opal
Gee, I thought sanitation would make the top ten…
~VOW
Sex?
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New Coke
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BetaMax
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Hootie and the Blowfish
Seriously, I would go with: -
War
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Literacy
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Religion
I’ll have to go with jk1245 on this one…
Development of agriculture
Written language
Religion (this has definitely been a major driving force for basically as long as human beings have been around)
This is more of a poll than a General Question.
Off to IMHO.
DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator
Your history teacher is wrong.
Off to IMHO.
^ Ooh, a mod double-team! ^
My answer
1.Location
2.Location
3.Location
(see Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond)
That’s the first simulmove I’ve seen.
Hmmm…, tall order, and very subjective.
How about geology, biology and luck?
Or did you want something more along the lines of development of language, evolution of democracy and WWII?
language, religion/medicine, astronomy
desire, memory, reasoning
Industrialization, Development of Laws/Religion and Agriculture
- Abraham’s covenant with God.
- Agriculture.
- Just to be a rebel: the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
I’d think that Agriculture and Language would be pretty solid locks for two of the three. Though religion is a good third choice, I’d have to go with Mathematics or Writing as each having been a greater agent of progress. As to which of these to place as the third, it depends upon what day you ask me today, I’d go with the following, in this order:
A. Language
2. Agriculture
D. Writing